creativity is not confined to art alone

Here is an article, I wrote and was published last year, on Creativity. I felt it was a great time to revisit it...



Recently at an Art Show, I had many opportunities to talk with people about Creativity and Art. After being told by an art appreciator that she couldn’t draw a stick figure, I began to wonder why we perceive creativity to mean art?

Creative, defined in the dictionary, means inventive and imaginative. Does that mean that my mechanic could be creative? My gardener? (I wish) Or my yoga instructor? My computer man? Sure it does! The essence of creativity is within us all, it resides in a place that can be easily tapped into when we are looking for a solution. What may come is a creative solution. Have you ever come up with an inspirational idea that has popped into your head and seems so crazy it might just work? Isn’t that being creative?

Cast your thoughts to Leonardo da Vinci.... did anyone tell him that creativity meant only art. He was also a great inventor as well as a great artist. Thank goodness he knew that creativity was all encompassing! One day I might have the opportunity to go hang gliding, or take a helicopter and thank da Vinci for being so creative.

Maybe you’re a great cook and love being in the kitchen, or love being outdoors in nature, or fishing (yes I am married to a very creative fisherman!) …. If you love what you’re doing, you may just find that you are being creative. I know when I am doing something I love, I feel happy, and I want to do it often because I feel so good!

So it is with awareness I ask you ‘Are you Creative?’ And in that moment when you are doing something that you love, you might say ‘Yes I am’. Art is one form of creative expression, but so is a warm batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, made with love.